University of Washington President Michael K. Young and Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced on Monday, May 21 the selection of Bjong Wolf Yeigh as the next chancellor at the University of Washington Bothell, effective Sept. 1. He will be taking over for Kenyon Chan after he decided to step back from higher education administration in late 2012 to return to his academic roots. Chan will no longer be the chancellor of UW Bothell following the 2012–2013 academic year. The appointment is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.

“Dr. Yeigh has been a force of innovation and change throughout his career, particularly in positions of academic leadership,” said Young. “He has left a trail of success everywhere he has been, and we are very excited to have him join the University of Washington and lead our dynamic campus at Bothell as it continues to grow and develop.”

Yeigh is currently a professor and president of State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome and has been at SUNYIT since 2008. He has overseen operations for the 800-acre science and technology campus. During his tenure at SUNYIT, he secured $15.5 million capital grants for cybersecurity and nanotechnology programs and led the effort to gain two rounds of funding for regional economic development projects totaling $119.9 million. Working in partnership with the University at Albany, a $240 million nanotechnology partnership was secured.

Yeigh also oversaw the largest expansion of the campus to date, including the construction of a student center, field house, and residential complex totalling over a combined $119.9 million.

In addition, Yeigh secured private and public funding to add both science, technology, engineering, and mathematics faculty, as well as student merit scholarships.

Yeigh has been an administrator for over a decade, starting in 1999 as assistant provost of science and technology at Yale. From 2003 to 2006, he served as the dean of the Parks College of Engineering, Aviation, and Technology at St. Louis University.

Yeigh holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from Dartmouth, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford, and a master’s and doctorate in civil engineering and operations research from Princeton.

Yeigh’s salary will be $285,000, higher than Chan’s annual salary of $248,000.

UW Bothell was established in 1990 and is the fastest-growing university in Washington. It currently has 4,100 students and offers over 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. (end)